Birthday Surprise
by Narshean Princess
Summary: 3 plotting girls, one birthday boy, and one victim baked in a cupcake! ZackxVincent with chocolately deliciousness wrapped in a pink bow.


"Happy Birthday Zack"

"Happy Birthday Zack"

FFVII FanFic

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Please, don't ask what we were thinking when writing this. ; I wrote for the girls and my friend wrote for Vincent and Zack.

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Aerith stared up at the clouds, her green eyes blank. There was nothing going on today. Nothing exciting at all.

"I'm bored." Yuffie whined, rolling onto her stomach, green grass tickling her nose.

"I know, but try to enjoy the sunshine. It's been raining all week, after all." Tifa told the young, restless girl.

"Oh!" Aerith sat up, revelation hitting her. "You know what I just forgot?"

"Eh?" Both Tifa and Yuffie looked at the brunette, exchanging looks of confusion.

"Today is Zack's birthday and I totally forgot to get him a present!" A look of sheer horror befell the young woman's face. "Ohhh! Shame on me! Shame on me!"

"It's his birthday? Oh, Aerith, quit hitting yourself. We can always make him a cake." Tifa placed a hand on Aerith's shoulder, acting the peace maker.

"Yeah! A big cake!" Yuffie chipped in, her eyes sparkling with hunger. "It'll be huge, and round, like materia!"

The older women looked at each other, holding in their laughter. "Zack doesn't like big things like that. He prefers small quantities." Aerith explained.

"How about a cupcake, then?" Tifa smiled sweetly, thinking of the decorations they could put on it. "And we can put a little candle in the middle."

Aerith's green eyes drifted aloft the field, catching sight of a familiar red cape-wearing man. Her smile grew into a malicious grin. "Or… we can put something much better in the center of the cupcake."

"What's better than a candle?" Yuffie asked, totally confused. "Is it materia? I bet it's materia."

Shaking her head, Aerith leaned into their tiny circle of seclusion, whispering her plan. All three girls had a hint of malice in their gaze. Oh, this was going to be fun.

Vincent's mind was far away from the present, though, with three devious young women scheming nearby, he probably should have been more focused. His mind and gaze was on the beautiful blue sky. He didn't get to see too many days like this, ones that simply made him feel, dare he say, good. The breeze caught his fine black locks and they blew around his face, the warm air gentle and soothing.

He closed his eyes and laid back, his arms crossed over his chest, the grass cushioning his form perfectly. Today was a good day...or so he thought.

"Okay, so, you all know the plan." Aerith said, looking at her two followers. "Tifa and Yuffie, you both will wait for me in the kitchen while I lure Vincent inside. When he walks in and the door's closed, Yuffie you cast mini and stop. That way he can't escape. In the mean time, Tifa will pre heat the oven and make sure everything's ready."

"Got it!" Yuffie grinned, excited. "I got the materia right here!"

"This is going to be fun!" Tifa was just as excited and stood up. "Okay, we'll see you later!"

The two girls left Aerith to her duty. Standing, the wind ruffling against her chestnut bangs and pink dress, she wandered over to where Vincent lay, careful not to get in his sun. "Hi, Vincent. Mind if I sit next to you?"

"Uh, sure..." Vincent nodded, sitting up, a bit surprised and embarrassed to have been caught with his defenses down like that.

Sitting up quickly, he brought one knee up and leaned against it, looking at Aerith with his reserved gaze. If there was one person he could honestly say he trusted it was her. Aerith was a sweet, understanding person, and though he never talked about nearly anything to her, he still knew that he could if the need ever arose.

"Beautiful day..." he said quietly, looking back out over the horizon.

"Yes. Very nice day." Aerith sat down beside him, tucking her feet beneath her in a lady-like pose. "Especially after all the rain we've had." Glancing over at him, she decided to play the bashful girl. It would seem he wouldn't suspect her if she was looking bashful and shy. Of course, if worse comes to worse, she'd have to use plan B.

"Vincent…?" She allowed a little blush to her cheeks. "If you could get a present for a friend, would you? I mean, if it was their birthday and all…"

Vincent looked at Aerith, almost skeptically. Vincent wasn't exactly the type to ask about gifts, since his social skills were certainly not those of someone who would attend a birthday party anyway. Still, she was asking him, and so, he would oblige. "I suppose...it would depend on what the person likes," the gunman replied with a shrug. "Consider their interests and what they like and dislike."

"Well... If you were wondering why I asked, it's because... well... today's a friends birthday and I don't know what to get him." Aerith looked away, her blush reddening. "I was thinking of baking him a cake, but I'm no good at those things. Do you think... I must sound silly asking this, but... would you help me? Tifa's busy and I don't want to bother her."

Vincent wasn't sure how to respond. Had he any culinary skills, he probably would have agreed. However, he had not had to cook anything since...well, it had truly been years. Normally, he just ate whatever Tifa made. If not, then whatever the group had when they ate out or at the hotel they were staying in. He wasn't picky in that respect.

"I cannot say that I will be of any more help then simply reading the directions," Vincent replied. "If nothing else, I can help to keep you from...experimenting, as you seem to enjoy doing."

Aerith smiled and hugged him, despite the cold aura he usually had. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, anyway, so, all's fair in love and war. Wait... that wasn't the right saying at this point.

"Thank you! You're a life saver! Come on, let's go right now!" She stood up and grabbed his hand, giving him a good tug to get him to hurry.

Vincent was surprised at the urgency in her tone, and, had it been anyone else, probably would have been more then a little suspicious. However, this was Aerith, and so, naturally, there was no reason to be suspicious. And so, his crimson eyes were certainly more surprised looking then anything else as he was dragged along behind her.

"What sort of cake does your friend like? And just who is this friend anyway? Someone I know?" He knew it certainly wasn't his birthday...his was months away, so at least it wasn't some embarrassing surprise for him. And he didn't think that anyone in their group had a birthday soon.

Aerith was just too happy he came along without a fight. "It's Zack's birthday." She said with a little smile. "I wanted to buy him something special, but I don't have time. He likes black cherry frosting the best, so I thought I'd put that on a cupcake."

Once she opened the kitchen door, Yuffie jumped from her seat. "Hurray! She got him here!"

Aerith closed the door and pushed Vincent further in. "Now, Yuffie!"

"Mini!" Yuffie's little green materia orb glowed and the spell was cast, Vincent the target. "Stop!" She cast another spell with a different orb, one that would freeze him in place.

Vincent didn't have time to think, let alone react. The next thing he knew, he was but a few inches tall, and frozen in place. Of course, thanks to that stupid Stop spell, he couldn't even glower at the ones responsible. Instead, he was stuck with a slightly surprise look on his pale face, though in his mind, he was spitting venom at them all, especially Aerith, the moment he pieced together what was happening. If this was some stupid prank, then he wasn't laughing! More to the point, it was probably Yuffie's idea. She'd get hers eventually.

Yuffie scooped the mini and frozen Vincent up and jumped around excitedly. "Tifa! We got him-"

Aerith snatched Vincent away, an angry look on her face. "Don't jump around with him like that! He's small and fragile."

She held Vincent gently in her hands, as if he were a small, newborn kitten. Meeting Tifa over by the table she sat down, still holding the little guy. "Easy-Bake™? Is that what we're using?"

"Yup!" Tifa smiled happily, proud of her accomplishments. She got everything ready and had a little pan with the cupcake mix already in it. "Just stick Vincent in the middle and we'll put a protect spell on him, to make sure he doesn't get cooked along with the dough."

"Shouldn't we undress him first?" Yuffie asked, leaning over Aerith's shoulder, a sort of a predator's look gleaming in her eye.

"Ew!" Aerith exclaimed, holding Vincent tighter. "You just want to see him naked! That's gross, Yuffie!"

"She has a point, though." Tifa was blushing lightly. "Let's just take off his cloak, shirt, claw and shoes. That way his clothes won't get ruined and the metal won't scorch his skin."

"Alright. Since you put it that way. No, Yuffie! I'm going to undress him. It will do us no good if you start molesting him." Aerith began the tedious effort of unclothing the tiny Vincent. She muttered apologies to him, hoping he wasn't 'too' mad at her.

Once he was undressed, save for his pants, they stuck him in the batter and put protective spells and charms on him. And then, they popped him in the oven.

Naturally, Vincent had his objections to this, but he certainly couldn't voice any of them. As if the humiliation of being undressed by Aerith like some doll wasn't enough, he was going to be baked into a cake! Like something out of a fairytale! But what made it worse was that, not only were these three seeing him like this but...what if he was really meant to be a present for Zack?!

The cool feel of the batter sent chills along his skin, but the thought of being baked...even with the protective spells in place made him more then a little nervous, and rightfully so. This had to be a bad dream! It really was! He just needed to wake up...

"I hope he'll be alright in there." Aerith said with concern as she watched Vincent being baked.

"He'll be fine." Tifa reassured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "This little oven isn't dangerous as long as that protective spell wears long enough till the end. If we used a 'real' oven, well... that'd be gruesome."

The Stop spell was beginning to wane, at least enough for Vincent to blink and breath properly again. However, the heat was uncomfortable, especially since it was sealing him in the cake that he was now a decoration for. Had he been in a better mood and situation, he probably would have applauded Tifa's spell-casting abilities. He wasn't even breaking a sweat, though, by the time the timer 'dinged', the Stop spell had worn off. Of course, it didn't matter since the batter around him was compacted and solid, leaving him without room to shift or move.

Aerith and Yuffie had been putting things away for Tifa while the martial artist was busy setting things up for decorating. Like frosting. She opened the door and pulled Vincent out. "I hope it wasn't too uncomfortable for you." She smiled wryly. "This was Aerith's idea, just so you know."

"Oh, don't tell him that!" Aerith objected. "Do we want sprinkles?"

"No, I think those small cherry bits would be perfect, though." Tifa took the cupcake out of the container and set it down on the table top. "Don't ruin the cupcake, ok? It won't be long till you're free."

She picked up some chocolate frosting and started to delicately spread it along the cupcake's surface, careful not to hit Vincent. Aerith soon returned with a baggy of cherry bits and started to sprinkle them across. She then took a tiny ribbon and tied a bow in Vincent's hair, mostly to keep his hair out of the frosting.

"There. You look so pretty, Vincent." Aerith giggled.

"Yeah." Yuffie snorted. "Like a princess."

"No! Not like a princess!" Aerith argued. "Like a very feminine prince!"

"You're both wrong." Tifa rolled her eyes and set Vincent and his cupcake down into a small box. She poked holes in the lid and covered it, whispering her apologies to Vincent. "He looks very handsome in all that chocolate."

"I'd rather not be any of those things!" Vincent called out, his tone one of complete anger and annoyance. "You have no right to do this! This is humiliating, you three!" Though he was in his little box, he voice carried well enough through the holes. The ribbon kept the icing out of his hair, certainly, and, though he did appreciate Zack's company greatly, he did NOT appreciate being used as a decoration against his will!

And he most certainly did not like being called 'princess'. "Aerith! I am very disappointed in you! I expect this from Yuffie! Not from you!" His face turned into a pout as he settled into the knowledge that he wasn't getting out of this. Sure, Zack would have his laugh, and Aerith and the others would probably take pictures, Vincent would die a little inside. Then it would all be over, and they could move on with their lives...after Vincent beat the memory of the whole situation out of Zack and black-mailed the girls somehow...

Aerith sighed and opened the box, peering inside at him. "I'm sorry, Vincent. I'll make it up to you somehow. I'll be your slave for a week, how's that?"

"I want to be his slave!" Yuffie raised her hand.

They all ended up ignoring the ninja. Once the box had a pretty ribbon on it, they set off to find Zack, who, they guessed, was probably playing video games.

"Zack" Aerith called out in a sing-song voice. "We got something for you!"

Zack looked up from his game, which Cloud, Cid and Barret had so graciously gotten him for his birthday (Though, really, the two simply put their names on the tag at the last minute) "Aerith! Hey!" He sprang from his seat and greeted the young woman, looking coyly suspicious at the way she had called him. "And what are you three up to?"

"Up to?" The girls said in unison and with a giggle.

"We just got you this little gift." Aerith handed him the box. "Hope you like it. Oh, and don't open it till we're gone."

The girls turned and left, giving Zack a little wave or a wink. "Play nicely."

"P-play?" Zack asked, accepting the box, looking at them now with surprise. Was it another game? If so, that was a weird way of telling him to enjoy it. But then again, it had holes in the box! Maybe it was a pet? Like a puppy? "Kinda small..." he muttered, "Maybe a Chihuahua?"

Not able to contain his excitement and curiosity, now that the idea of a pet was in his mind, he pulled off the ribbon and opened the lid. "Maybe I'll call it-"

He stopped short when he saw what it really was, and the surprise became complete. "Vincent!?"

There was Vincent, looking all pretty with his head on top of the frosting, surrounded by bits of cherry and his hair up in a ribbon, though, Zack couldn't be sure if the pout on the gunman's face was supposed to be cute or not.


End file.
